Girl succumbs to dog bites after month-long battle in TS, 12 more injured in state
Warangal: A 13-year-old girl from Pochampalli village in Karimnagar succumbed to injuries she suffered in a dog bite incident over a month ago, while undergoing treatment at the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Saturday morning.
The girl’s death comes on a day when stray dogs ran rampant across the state, with 12 people, including many children, being injured in stray dog attacks in Hanamkonda and Adilabad. All of them were administered primary treatment and are said to be in stable condition.
In February, the 13-year-old, identified as Maheshwari, was playing outside her house in Manakondur mandal with her two younger brothers when she was bitten.
Immediately after the incident, Maheshwari’s parents, both farm labourers, took her to a primary health centre, where she was treated. However, as she continued to suffer from illness, the parents admitted her to a private hospital in Karimnagar, from where she was shifted to a Hyderabad hospital on the advice of doctors.
They said that despite spending over Rs 10 lakh on their daughter’s treatment, collected through donations and loans, their daughter’s condition failed to improve. They then requested health minister T. Harish Rao to intervene, following which she was admitted to the Gandhi Hospital a week ago. However, all efforts were in vain.
In other incidents of dog bites across the state on Saturday, a six-year-old boy was bitten by stray dogs while playing outside his residence in First Bank Colony’s 22nd Division under Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation limits in Hanamkonda district.
The boy, Jaswanth, suffered injuries to his hands and legs.
Locals, upon hearing the boy’s screams, drove away the dogs and admitted him to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital.
Meanwhile, 11 persons were injured in stray dog attacks across the Indravelli mandal headquarters on Saturday evening.
The victims were identified as Divya, 15, Yashoda,7, Shankar, 13, Maher, 15, Sameer, 16, Nirguna, 20, Gautham, 24, Ramzan, 21, Laxmi, 28, Fathima, 60 and Afroz, 2. Except for Shankar, who came to Indravelli market from Chinthakarra village, all were locals.
Seven-year-old Yashoda, who suffered the most grievous injuries, was shifted to RIMS for treatment, while the rest were administered anti-rabies injections and given primary treatment at the Indravelli primary health centre.
Dr Srikanth, who treated the patients, said that their staff received information that three more dog bite victims, besides the 11, were also seeking medical aid.
